1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to surgical instruments used in the resection of a patella during knee arthroplasty.
2. Description of the Related Art
Orthopedic prostheses are commonly utilized to repair or replace damaged bone and tissue in the human body. For example, a knee prosthesis may include a patellofemoral prosthesis designed to replace the natural patellofemoral groove, also called the femoral sulcus, formed in the distal portion of the femur. In total knee arthroplasty, for example, a femoral component designed to replace the entire distal portion of the natural femur includes an anterior flange which serves as a patellofemoral prosthesis. In some other surgical procedures, such as partial knee arthroplasty, a separate patellofemoral component can be implanted to replace the femoral sulcus.
A patellar prosthesis may also be used in knee arthroplasty procedures. The patella prosthesis replaces a portion of the natural patella, and is designed to articulate with the patellofemoral prosthesis. Alternatively, a surgeon may forego the use of a patellofemoral component and implant only the patellar prosthesis, which then articulates with the natural patellofemoral groove of the femur. In a typical implantation of a patellar prosthesis, the anterior portion of the natural patella is retained while the posterior, articulating portion of the patella is replaced with a prosthetic component. Replacing only the articulating surface of the patella preserves ligament connections between the natural patella and the surrounding anatomical structures. To make such a “partial” patellar replacement, the posterior portion of the patella is resected and the prosthetic patellar component is affixed to the resected surface.
To perform a resection of the posterior portion of the patella for receipt of a particular prosthesis, the depth of resection is controlled to remove a known amount of the natural bone stock of the anatomic patella. The chosen prosthesis replaces the removed bone stock to yield a desired prosthetic patellar articular surface.